November is usually the month when leaving the house starts requiring both motivation and several layers of knitwear.
Thankfully, the East Midlands has provided a fairly persuasive reason to abandon the sofa.
Across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire, November’s gig calendar includes enormous arena shows, cult favourites, returning indie heroes and the kind of intimate gigs where you’re close enough to confirm that, yes, the drummer really is sweating that much.
Here are our picks…
NOTTS
⭐ Suede & Manic Street Preachers
Motorpoint Arena Nottingham | Wednesday 11 November
One ticket, two of the great survivors of British alternative music. Suede and Manic Street Preachers arrive at Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on November 11, making this a fairly irresistible proposition for anyone whose record collection reached its formative years somewhere around Coming Up and Everything Must Go.
Why go? Because few double bills scream “massive communal indie singalong” quite as loudly as this one.
[TICKETS]
Enter Shikari
Motorpoint Arena Nottingham | Friday 13 November
Friday the 13th feels oddly appropriate for a band whose live shows have never exactly been associated with quiet contemplation. Enter Shikari bring their Lose Your Self Tour 2026 to Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena. [moshradar.com]
Expect electronic noise, huge riffs and considerably more jumping around than your smartwatch was expecting.
Rizzle Kicks
Rock City | Monday 16 November
Yes, Rizzle Kicks are back.
The British pop-rap duo’s reunion tour hits Rock City on November 16, with Rafa and Meelo also on the bill.
If your musical memories of the early 2010s involve festival fields, indie discos and lyrics you’ve somehow retained despite forgetting several passwords since then, this could be enormous fun.
[Tickets]
Yard Act
Rock City | Tuesday 17 November
The following evening, Rock City switches gears for one of Britain’s sharpest modern guitar bands. Yard Act play the Nottingham institution on November 17.
Why go? Dry humour, post-punk grooves and the distinct possibility of leaving with several new opinions about modern Britain.
[Tickets]
The Snuts
Rock City | Friday 27 November
November’s final weekend brings Scottish indie favourites The Snuts to Rock City for their Joy In Short Moments Tour, joined by The Kairos and The Rooks. [gigantic.com]
Big choruses + Rock City + Friday night = really, you know how this works by now.
[Tickets]
Placebo
Motorpoint Arena Nottingham | Saturday 28 November
And then there’s Placebo.
They’re listed for a Saturday-night date at Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on November 28.
Brooding alt-rock inside a dark arena on a late-November night feels almost suspiciously appropriate.
[Tickets]
LEICESTERSHIRE
⭐ Fat Dog
O2 Academy2 Leicester | Sunday 15 November
Here’s the one we’d circle if you prefer gigs slightly unhinged.
Fat Dog hit O2 Academy2 Leicester on November 15 as part of their 2026 UK and European tour, with their live reputation very much built around high-energy chaos.
This probably isn’t the gig for standing politely at the back holding a pint.
Why go? Because seeing a band this explosive in a relatively intimate room beats saying you wish you’d seen them somewhere smaller two years later.
[Tickets]
Yard Act
O2 Academy Leicester | Monday 16 November
Before Nottingham gets them, Leicester does.
Yard Act play O2 Academy Leicester on November 16, one night before their Rock City appearance.
One of November’s safest bets for anyone who wants their indie sharp, funny and danceable.
[Tickets]
Jake Bugg
O2 Academy2 Leicester | Wednesday 18 November
This one has a neat East Midlands connection.
Nottingham’s Jake Bugg brings his Alamo Solo Acoustic Tour to O2 Academy2 Leicester on November 18. [gigantic.com]
Stripped-back Bugg, in a smaller room, just down the road from his home city? Yep, we’ll take that.
Alison Moyet
De Montfort Hall | Sunday 22 November
One of the month’s prestige bookings.
Alison Moyet plays De Montfort Hall as part of her Songs of Yazoo, the minutes & Other Tour, built around material from Yazoo plus select songs from her solo albums the minutes and Other. Her official site currently lists the Leicester performance as sold out. [alisonmoyetmusic.com]
If you already have a ticket, feel smug.
If you don’t, perhaps keep an eye on legitimate resale.
Big Country
O2 Academy Leicester | Sunday 29 November
Close the month with guitars turned firmly upwards.
Big Country are listed at O2 Academy Leicester on November 29, alongside Evan Peter’s Alarm. [moshradar.com]
Essentially: a big, rousing Sunday-night antidote to remembering it’s Monday tomorrow.
DERBYSHIRE
Dub Pistols
The Hairy Dog, Derby | Saturday 14 November
Now this is a Saturday-night booking.
Dub Pistols head to Derby grassroots favourite The Hairy Dog on November 14. Both the venue itself and current listings confirm the date. [thehairydo…erby.co.uk]
If you like your weekends involving dub, punk, beats and very little chance of standing still, proceed directly to the ticket page.
Dave McCabe
The Flowerpot, Derby | Thursday 19 November
A nice little curveball in Derby’s November calendar.
Dave McCabe of The Zutons plays The Flowerpot on November 19. [moshradar.com]
The Flowerpot is precisely the sort of room in which catching the frontman of a band responsible for some gigantic noughties tunes feels considerably more interesting than seeing them halfway across an arena.
[Tickets]
⭐ Midge Ure
Vaillant Live, Derby | Saturday 21 November
Synth-pop royalty comes to Derby.
Midge Ure brings A Man Of Two Worlds to Vaillant Live on November 21, with the venue listing an 8pm performance.
Tickets” [vaillantlive.co.uk]
If you’ve ever wanted to hear that voice unleashed on some of the defining sounds of the 1980s in a big room, here’s your chance.
Meryl Streek
The Hairy Dog | Friday 27 November
For something considerably less comfortable, try Meryl Streek.
The uncompromising Irish artist plays The Hairy Dog on November 27. [thehairydo…erby.co.uk]
Part punk show, part spoken-word assault, part state-of-the-world dispatch. Probably not the evening for requesting Wonderwall.
Jesus Jones
The Flowerpot | Friday 27 November
Alternatively, November 27 offers a substantial blast of indie nostalgia courtesy of Jesus Jones at The Flowerpot. [moshradar.com]
A proper Friday-night “wait, I remember ALL of this” gig.
LINCOLNSHIRE
⭐ The Bluetones
The Drill, Lincoln | Sunday 8 November
The Bluetones arrive at Lincoln’s wonderfully intimate The Drill on November 8.
If your tastes lean towards enduring Britpop-era guitar pop rather than arena spectacle, this might be one of Lincoln’s sleeper picks of the month.
[Tickets]
Total Stone Roses
Engine Shed | Friday, November 13
The UK’s BEST Stone Roses Tribute return to the stage! If you love I Am The Resurrection, Made Of Stone, Fools Gold, Waterfall, She Bangs The Drums and many more then do not miss this exclusive opportunity to hear your favourite Stone Roses anthems performed live by the UK’s finest tribute!
Support comes from Oaysis, one of the UK’s best Oasis tribute bands performing a hits packed set that’s guaranteed to be BIBLICAL!
[Tickets]
The Feeling
The Drill | Wednesday 18 November
Suddenly feeling very old? Excellent.
The Feeling are celebrating 20 years of Twelve Stops and Home, bringing the anniversary show to The Drill on November 18. The band’s debut produced the likes of Sewn, Fill My Little World, Never Be Lonely and Love It When You Call.
Twenty years. Sorry about that.
This should essentially be one enormous mid-noughties pop-rock singalong in a 500-ish-capacity room. [The Feelin…ll Lincoln]
T’Pau
The Drill | Friday 27 November
T’Pau take over The Drill on Friday, November 27.
A neat option if your idea of a good Friday involves soaring ’80s pop-rock rather than queueing outside a nightclub in the rain.
Skerryvore
The Drill | Sunday 29 November
And Lincoln finishes November with something a little different.
Scottish band Skerryvore play The Drill on November 29. [gigantic.com], [ents24.com]
Folk, rock and traditional Celtic sounds combined into the sort of live set likely to make a November Sunday feel considerably less November-ish.
Total Stone Roses
Engine Shed | Friday, November 13
The UK’s BEST Stone Roses Tribute return to the stage! If you love I Am The Resurrection, Made Of Stone, Fools Gold, Waterfall, She Bangs The Drums and many more then do not miss this exclusive opportunity to hear your favourite Stone Roses anthems performed live by the UK’s finest tribute!
Support comes from Oaysis, one of the UK’s best Oasis tribute bands performing a hits packed set that’s guaranteed to be BIBLICAL!
